Was it for the US Trump Administration and the continued dismantling of Federal emissions reduction regulations?

No....it is for the host country of this year's UN climate change conference being held in the middle of Silesia - coal country. A conference heavily sponsored by state owned coal companies.

"Today’s Fossil of the day goes to Poland for trying to protect their one true love – coal – and not its people and environment, as well as for downplaying the urgency of climate action that we need to stay alive - a negotiated decision to strengthen NDCs in line with the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming to 1.5C." says the Climate Action network.

Fossil of the Day Media Release:

Poland

Cough, cough .... Did anyone else notice that strange haze in the air? ... cough, cough ... I suppose there is something to be said for the way light reflects off the “clouds,” but really? Why are we at COP in a coal region?

Polish President Andrzej Duda said yesterday during his speech delivered at COP 24 that there is no contradiction between climate protection and coal use. He also stated that Poland has coal reserves that will last for 200 years more. Then today, speaking at the Barbórka Academy of the Tauron Group, he stressed that the Polish mining industry and mining constitutes "one of the foundations of the Polish economy", determining the country's energy security and are "to a great extent" a guarantee of its energy sovereignty. What a warm (or boiling hot?) welcome from the hosts of COP 24!

There is a stark contrast between his words and what science says – the recent IPCC report clearly states we have 12 more years to save the world and deliver on ambitious climate action. Meanwhile, the past four COP Presidents have been busy urging parties and stakeholders alike to send an “unequivocal message” from Katowice on the need to “enhance ambition by 2020 that puts the world on a trajectory compatible with the objectives of the Paris Agreement,” pursing efforts to limit warming to 1.5C. It’s clear the presidency is not doing enough!

Today’s Fossil of the day goes to Poland for trying to protect their one true love – coal – and not its people and environment, as well as for downplaying the urgency of climate action that we need to stay alive - a negotiated decision to strengthen NDCs in line with the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming to 1.5C.

About CAN: The Climate Action Network (CAN) is a worldwide network of over 1100 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in more than 120 working to promote government and individual action to limit human induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels. www.climatenetwork.org

About Fossil: The Fossil of the Day awards were first presented at the climate talks in 1999, in Bonn, initiated by the German NGO Forum. During United Nations climate change negotiations (www.unfccc.int), members of the Climate Action Network (CAN), vote for countries judged to have done their 'best' to block progress in the negotiations or in the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The first corporate sponsor of COP24 is Polish coal corporation Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa (JSW). JSW, a majority Polish state-owned corporation, is the European Union’s largest coking coal producer.

The following Statement was issued November 27: from Sriram Madhusoodanan, deputy campaigns director at Corporate Accountability:

“The fact that the negotiations charged with solving the global climate crisis are being bankrolled by Big Coal is absolutely unacceptable. Big Polluter sponsors like JSW are not only able to use sponsorship to greenwash their images, but also sponsorship will likely buy them access to the talks themselves — a massive conflict of interest. It’s like a gun control policy meeting being paid for by the National Rifle Association. Or public health talks bankrolled by Big Tobacco.

Such sponsorship raises serious questions about what access and influence sponsorship buys and could risk calling into question the legitimacy of these talks before they even begin. Big Polluters have no place bankrolling or participating in the UN climate talks. Period.

It is precisely for this reason that a global movement has issued the People’s Demands and specifically called for governments to protect the talks from Big Polluter interference.”

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About Me

Time to leap out of the slowly boiling pot of earth's warming climate
into action on climate mitigation and adaption.
I don't want my children to ask why I didn't act after reading the
scientific reports of climate risks. I write on the
effects of human induced climate change, sea level rise, ocean
acidification, biodiversity loss, environmental and social impacts of
global warming, and climate protests from a Melbourne Citizen
Journalist.

A member of environmental NGOs and community groups for 30 years in Australia, currently living in Melbourne. I have been a Citizen journalist for the Indymedia network in Australia and worldwide from 2000, as an editor and contributor with Australia Indymedia and the global features collective. Since 2013 I have contributed many stories to Margot Kingston's citizen journalism website: nofibs.com.au. (See my article archive) I also post photoessays to Flickr and videos to Youtube and edit wikipedia as user Tirin. My website is takver.com where I can be contacted through the feedback form, the most reliable way to contact me. I can also be contacted through facebook and on twitter as @takvera.